Heel machine



Oct. 7, 1930 R. c. SEMMONS j y HEEL MACHINE Filed Feb. 6, 1925 4Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 7, 1930. R. c. SIMMONS 1,777,331

HEEL MACHINE Filed Feb. 6, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 at. 7, 193% F2. c.SIMMONS 1,777,331

HEEL MACHINE Filed Feb. 6 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 7, 1930. R. c.SIMMONS HEEL MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 6 1925 Patented @et. 7,193% STATES PATENT GFFICE RALPH O. SIMMONS, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MA- CHINERY CQBPORATION, T3 PATF'RSON, NEWJERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY HEEL MACHINE Application filedFebruary This invention relates to heel machines, being hereinillustrated as embodied in a machine for making heel blanks, heel bases,or heel sections of various descriptions for use in the manufacture ofboots and shoes, and it should be understood that the term heel, used inthe following specification and claims includes, wherever the contextpermits, heel blanks in any of these forms.

The general object of the invention is to provide a compact anddependable machine for producing economically, at high speed, heelblanks or heel sections of great uniformity. A particular object is toprovide such a mac lne for producing heel blanks or sections havingcertain characteristics by reason of which they are es aecially suitedfor use in the practice of the method of making shoes, involving the useof standardized parts,

ch is described and claimed in the copending application of George E.Warren, Serial No. 476,659, filed June 11, 1921, and more specificallyfor use in building heels of a particular type in a machine of the typeof the machine which is described and claimed in my copendingapplication Serial ilo. 757,241, filed Dec. 20, 192a; although yfeatures of the invention are useful and lu able in connection with heelmachines nerally, without regard to the particular type of heel or heelblank to be produced or handled.

ll ith the accomplishment of the above ed objects in view, the inventionprovides echine in which are co-operatively com- .iechanisms whichassemble a plurality i nents, such, for example, as a rand lift, into aheel blank and form upon e :embled blank a standardized position- 40 ingsurface or a plurality of such surfaces in predetermined relation toeach other. In this connection the term lift should be understood, throuhout the following specification and claims, 0 designate not only a singe layer of heel stock but any heel blank or heel section to which a randis to be attached, since the particular thickness of the heel element towhich the rand is to be attached w immaterial to the present invention.

In the illustrated embodiment of the in- 6, 1925. Serial No. 17,3539.

vention provision is made for forming positioning surfaces upon theblank at the time when its elements are assembled, and a feature of thepresent invention consists in combining with mechanism for assembling aplurality of heel elements into a heel blank, means for providing theblank with a positioning surface, or surfaces, formed concurrently withthe assembling operation. As herein shown positioning surfaces areformed on the breast face of the blank adjacent to its side edges.

Another feature, contributing to speed in operation and reduction oflabor cost, resides in the provision of means for forming a rand to theshape of a heel lift and assembling the formed rand with a lift or liftsto produce a randed heel or heel section which may be a complete shoeheel, a base for a rubber heel, or a blank to be used in a machine suchas that shown in my copending application above identified.

The illustrated machine is cyclically operated and is capable ofproducing automatically from rand stock in the form of a strip ofindeterminate length and a supply of previously formed lifts or similarblanks randed heels of the kinds above mentioned. Means is provided forfeeding, cementing and cut-- ting off a measured length of rand strip,bending or forming the cut off rand to the shape of a heel lift,assembling it with a lift and introducing the rand and lift into areceiver or holder where the assembled blank is stacked with othersimilar blanks and held under pressure for a sufficient length of timeto insure setting of the cement.

Other features of the invention provide improvements which areapplicable to heel machines generally and which aid in securinguniformity in product, dependability in operation and safety for theoperating mechanism. To these ends automatic devices are provided forstopping the power operation of the machine in the event of the receiverfor the assembled blanks becoming full, the lift supply magazinebecoming empty, or the end of the strip of rand stock being reached. Forsimplicity in operation it is advantageous to assemble in one cycle ofoperation of the machine a rand with a lift which has been advanced tothe assembling station in the machine in another cycle of operation,thud providing simply and effectively for rapidly producing a successionof blanks of substantially identical characteristics.

Further features relating to the formation and control of rands,trimming their breast ends, control of the application of cement, andother improvements contributing to the efficient and satisfactoryoperation of ma chines of the class indicated will be understood andappreciated from reading the following specification in connection withthe accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of themachine, parts of the casing being broken away to disclose the internalmechanism;

V Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of a portion of one of theautomatic stop devices with which the machine is provided;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of a portion of %he machine, taken upon theline 4, 4 of Fig. 5 is a detail of the cams which operate the blankraising plunger and the holddown foot;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section upon the line 6, 6 of Fig. 3-;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section 7, 7 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a detail of the paste controllingmechanism;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the rand holddown mechanism;

Fig. 10 is a sectional View of a detail of the rand and lift assemblingmechanism;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the rand feeding, cementing and formingmechanism on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a detail of the rand forming mechanismwith the parts in the positions which they occupy at the moment ofcompletion of the forming operation; and

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of an as sembled blank produced by themachine.

The illustrated machine is power driven, cyclically operated, andcompletely automatic. Mechanism is provided for feeding a heel lift orblank from a stack contamed in a magazine to an assembling station,drawing out, cementing and cutting off a measured length of materialfrom a rand strip of indeterminate length, forming the rand into theshape of the heel lift, pressing the cemented and formed rand upon thelift, trimming the ends of the rand and forming positioning surfacesupon the assembled blank, and forcing the assembled blank into a holderwhere it is held under pressure until the cement has set.

base 20 supporting a table 22 surmounted by an upright, hollow column 24carries upon the line the various elements and operating mechanisms ofthe machine. A lift magazine 26 is mounted at one side of the column 24which forms a wall of the magazine for engaging and accuratelydetermining the position of the breast edges of the lifts. Also securedto the face of the column at a position 90 removed from the magazine isan upright tube 28, constituting a. heel shaped holder or receiver inwhich the completed blanks are accumulated and held under pressureduring the time required for the cement to set.

The lowermost lift or blank in the stack in the magazine 26 is separatedfrom the remaining lifts or blanks in the stack and fed in a circularpath to an assembling station beneath the tube 28 by an arcuate pushplate 30 (see Fig. 3) guided for movement in a circular slot 82 in thetable 22. Movement imparted to the push plate 30 at proper times by acam 34 secured to the main cam shaft 36 which extends lengthwise of themachine and carries a number of cams from which the movements of thevarious mechanisms are derived.

The cam shaft 36 is driven by an electric motor 38 (see Fig. l) theshaft 40 of which is coupled to a shaft 42 upon which is a worm 44meshing with a worm gear 46. The worm gear 46 is connected by a clutch48 to the cam shaft 36 when power is to be transmitted to the cam shaftfrom the motor.

The cam 34 is engaged by a cam roll 50 at the end of one arm 52 of ahell crank lever mounted to swing in a horizontal plane about a fixedpivot 54. The other arm 56 of the bell crank lever is connected by anadjustable link 58 to the push plate 30, and it may be easily understoodthat each rotation of the cam shaft 36 imparts one complete oscillationto the push plate, feeding one blank from the bottom of the magazine 26to the assembling station.

In order to insure accuracy and certainty in the feeding of lifts fromthe magazine 26 a reciprocating detector 60, shown in Figs. 3 and 4, isarranged to engage the lowermost lifts in the magazine and position themdefinitely with their breast edges against the column 24. The detector60 is carried by a slide 62 moving in a guide slot 64 and connectedthrough a yielding spring 66 and link 68 to a rocker arm 70 mounted upona rock shaft 72. The shaft 7 2 also carries a rocker arm 74 which isconnected by a link 76 to a slide 78 having a yoke 80 (F 4) whichembraces eccentric 82 driven by the worm gear 46. By the mechanism justdescribed reciprocating movement is continuously imparted to thedetector 60, causing it fre quently to engage and position the lowermostlifts in the magazine 26.

The detector 60 has also the function of causim the machine to bestopped in tie event of the supply of blanks in the magazine 26 becomingexhausted. If there is no lift in the magazine 26 to be engaged by thedetector 60 the spring 66 will not be caused to yield and the detectorslide 62 will move inward further than it would if it were stopped byengagement of the detector with a lift. In this event a slottedextension 84 of the slide 62 engages a pin in the end of a lever 86secured to a rock shaft 88 journaled in a stationary bracket 90. Alsosecured to the shaft 88 is a rocker arm 92, the outer end of which isconnected by a link 94 to an arm 96 secured to a rock shaft 98. An arm100 secured to the shaft 98 is normally held up by a spring 102 and itsouter end is connected by a link 104 to a hook 106 pivoted at 108 to onearm 110 of a bell crank lever,

the other arm 112 of which is provided with a hook 114 arranged toengage a lever 116 having a handle 118 at its upper end and movableabout a stationary pivot 120 at its lower end (see Fig. 4). The lever116 carries a stop dog 122 controlling the clutch 48.

When the lever is thrown to the left, as viewed in Fig.4, the clutch isdisengaged, and the operating mechanism of the machine stopped, althoughthe motor 38 continues to run.

When the slotted extension 84 engages and operates the lever 86 the armis depressed until the hook 106 engages a co-operating hook 124 upon therear end of the slide 78. The next forward movement of the slide causesthe arm to be drawn forward and the hook 114 to be disengaged from thelever 116. This lever which has been held toward the rear of the machineby the hook 114 is now permitted to swing forward whereupon the stop dog122 disengages the clutch 48 and the machine is stopped. lVhen a freshsupply of lifts has been placed in the magazine 26 the detector 60 isagain prevented from moving inward far enough to cause engagement of theslide extension 84 with the arm 86, and the machine may be started bymoving the handle 118 rearward until the lever 116 is engaged and heldby the hook on theend of the arm 112.

The rand material is supplied in the form of a continuous strip'126(Fig. 11) which is drawn through a guide 128 beneath a cement applyingnozzle 130 to which cement is supalied from a container 132.Communication between the nozzle and the container is controlled by atwo-way valve 134 (Fig. 8) which is operated by a earn 136 (Fig. '7)upon the shaft 36 through mechanism which will now be described.

A cam lever 138 is pivotally mounted at 140 upon a bracket 142 securedto the under side of the table 22. A cam roll 144 upon the lower end ofthe lever 138 is held in engagement with the cam 136by a spring 146bearing against the lower end of the lever. The upper end of the leveris connected by a link 148 to an arm 150 secured to the valve 134.

A pump cylinder 152 is arranged to communicate with the cementreceptacle 132 through the two-way valve 134 when the latter is in oneposition and with the nozzle 130 when the valve is in its otherposition. plunger 154 is operated in the cylinder 152 first to draw acharge of cement from the receptacle 132 and then, after the valve 134is turned, to force the charge of cement out through the nozzle 130 uponthe upper surface of the rand strip 126. The pump plunger 154 isconnected by a link 156 (Fig. 7) to an arm 158 of a bell crank leverwhich is pivotally mounted at 160 upon a stationary bracket 162. Theother arm 164 of the bell crank lever is connected by a link 166 to arocker arm 168 secured to a shaft 170 to which is also secured a rockerarm 172 having at its end a cam roll 17 4 engaging a cam 176 upon thecam shaft 36. The connect-ion between the upper end of the link 166 andthe arm 164 is made adjustable by a thumb screw 178 for the purpose ofvarying the distance between the link and the pivot 160 and,consequently, the throw of the pump plunger 154, the stroke of the linkbeing constant. The stroke of the pump plunger is varied for the purposeof securing and discharging the proper amount of cement for theparticular length of rand to be produced, as will be described in detailhereinafter, but, whatever the amount of cement discharged, the periodof time through which it is discharged is always the same.

The mechanism for intermittently feeding, measuring and cutting off therand from the rand strip 126 will now be described. It is to beunderstood that the beginning end of the rand strip is preliminarilyinserted in the guide 128 in the position illustrated in Fig. 11. A feedslide 180 is arranged to reciprocate in guide slots 182 formed in thetable 22 and is connected by a link 184 to the upper end of a lever 186,the lower end of which is pivoted to a rocker arm 188 movable about astationary fulcrum 190. The lower end of the lever 186 is also connectedby a link 192 to a cam lever 194 movable about a stationary pivot 196and provided with a cam roll 198 engaging a cam upon the cam shaft 36,the center line of the said cam being indicated at 200 in Fig. 6.

The lever 186 is constrained to rock about a fulcrum pin 202 which isvertically adjustable. A block 204, which is rotatable upon the pin 202,has a sliding fit between parallel surfaces 206 formed upon the lever186, and the pin 202 is mounted in a slide 208 which is verticallyadjustable in sta tionary guides 210. A roll 212 on the upper end of theslide 208 engages in a spiral cam track 214 out in one face of anadjusting cam disk 216 which is secured to a shaft 218.

A beveled gear 220, also secured to the shaft 218, meshes with a similarbeveled gear 222 (Fig. 3) upon a shaft 224 having at its outer end amanually operable knob 226, a spring pressed pin 228 being provided tomaintain the adjustment. Rotation of the adjusting knob 226 will raiseor lower the fulcrum pin 202 and, consequently, vary the throw, but notthe time in which it occurs, of the upper end of the lever 186 and thefeed slide 180 which is connected thereto, since the throw of the lowerend of the lever 186 is constant. Furthermore, by virtue of themechanism just described, the path of movement of the upper end of thelever 186 is nearly a straight line instead of an arc of a circle aswould be the case if the lever were pivoted directly upon the fulcrumpin 202, and the movement imparted to the feed slide 180 issubstantially uniform in velocity.

Mounted upon the feed slide 180 is a bracket 230 (Figs. 6 and 11) towhich is pivoted a feed dog 232 having a sharp prong 234 for engagingthe rand strip. When the feed slide is moved to the inward limit of itsmovement the prong 234 engages the top of the rand strip 126 and as theslide returns toward the front of the machine the rand strip is drawnout by it through the guide 128.

The amount of rand strip drawn out is controlled by adjustment of thefulcrum 202 and a stop 236 is located in a position to be engaged by thefeed dog 232 to withdraw the prong 234 from the rand strip when thefeeding thereof is finished. The stop 236 is threaded into a rod 238(Fig. 11) slidably mounted in a stationary bearing 240. The rod 238 isconnected by links 242 to a rocker arm 244 upon a shaft 246 which alsohas secured to it a rocker arm 248. The arm 248 is connected by a link250 to an arm 252 secured to a shaft 254 upon which is an arm 256 havingat its outer end a roll 258 which engages in a cam path cut in the faceof the disk 216 opposite to that in which the cam path 214 is cut. Thecenter line of the cam path for the roll 258 is indicated by the dottedline 260 in Fig. 6. It will be understood that when the knob 226 isturned to adjust the throw of the lever 186 a simultaneous adjustment ofthe stop 236 will be effected, so that the prong 234 will always bewithdrawn from the rand strip at the end of the stroke of the feedslide.

The shaft 246 carries a third rocker arm 262 connected by links 264 to arod 266, the rear end of which is fastened to a slide 268 which supportsthe rand strip guide 128 and a knife 270 for cutting off the requiredlength of rand from the strip. The knife 270 is secured by a screw 272in a holder 274 upon the end of a rocker member 276 journaled in theslide 268. cured to it a gear segment 278 which meshes This rockermember has sewith a Wide rack 280 arranged to slide vertically instationary guides 282 (see Figs. 3 and 6).

The lower end of the rack 280 is connected by a link 284 to a lever 286which is connected by a link 288 to a cam lever 290 movable about astationary pivot 292 and provided with a cam roll 294 engaging a camsecured to the cam shaft 36, the center line of the cam track beingindicated by the dotted line 296 in Fig. 6. The cam 296 is so timed thatthe rack 280 will be reoiprocated and the knife 270 will be oscillatedto cut oil? the rand at the proper time.

The elements of the mechanism already described are so proportioned thatthe adjustment of the knife carrying slide 268 and the feed dog stop 236are equal and opposite, with the result that no matter what is thelength of the rand drawn out and cut off its center will always be atthe place indicated by the line 298 in Fig. 11.

The cemented rand, when it has been cut off from the strip, is straight,and must be bent or formed to the shape of the blank to which it is tobe applied. This is accomplished by a pair of forming fingers 300,pivoted at 302 upon a slide 304 (Fig. 3), eonnected together for equaland opposite movement by a link 306. An extended portion of one of theforming fingers 300 carries a cam roll 308 arranged to engage the edgeof a stationary template or cam 310 which is correctly shaped to causethe fingers to move through the proper paths to form the rand to thecontour of the edge of the lift. The roll 308 is held to the edge of thetemplate by a spring 312.

The foot portion 314 of a holddown 316 (Fig. 9) is disposed immediatelyabove the cut off rand and is held depressed, while the rand is beingbent or formed, in a position where it holds the rand down substantiallyflat, preventing the rand from buckling up during the forming operation.The holddown is carried by a vertically movable stem 318 slidablymounted in an upright guide 320. One side of the stem 318 is providedwith a rack 322 meshing with a gear segment 324 upon an arm 326 rigidlyconnected to an arm 328 movable about a stationary pivot 330. The arm328 is lowered, to elevate the holddown, by a spring 332 and is raisedby a vertically moving plunger 334 having at its lower end a cam roll336 (Fig. 9), engaging a cam 338 upon the cam shaft 36.

In the forming of the rand a properly shaped plate 340 (Figs. 3, 11 and12) cooperates with the forming fingers 300. The forming plate 340 isarranged to slide in a right line transversely of the machine and isactuated at the proper times by an arm 342 movable about a stationarypivot 344 and connected by a link 346 to the bell crank lever arm 52,the forming plate 340, therefore, being actuated by the same cam 34which actuates the push plate 30. The relative timing of the variousmechanisms will be described later in the description of the operationof the machine. It is sufficient at this point to state that when theforming plate 340 is projected to the position shown in Figs. 11 and 12the push plate 30 has fed a lift 348 from the magazine 26 around to aosition beneath the forming plate.

The lift 348 is supported by a horseshoeshaped plunger 350, the hollowinterior portion of which is large enough to admit the forming plate340. The plunger 350 is reciprocable vertically and has a depending stem352 connected by a link 354 to a lever 356 pivoted at 358 in astationary bracket 360. The lever 356 (see Figs. 5 and 6) carries a camroll 362 which engages and is operated by a cam 364 secured to the camshaft 36.

The timing is such that immediately after the former plate 340 isprojected and the lift 348 is fed under it the forming fingers 300 moveinwardly, bending the cut off rand 366 around the plate 340 and formingit to the shape of the lift 348 upon which it is deposited.

To aid in securing a perfect formation of the rand the slide 304 carriesa yielding pusher 368 arranged to engage the center of the rand anddetermine the position of the rear edge of the formed rand. The pusher368 is slidably mounted in theslide 304 and is drawn toward the right,as seen in Fig. 1, by a spring 370 to a position relative to the slidewhich is determined by the adjustment of a stop screw 372 threadedthrough a lug projecting upwardly from the pusher and arranged to engagethe end of the slide. The screw 372 will ordinarily be so adjusted thatthe operative end of the pusher 368 will be in line with the ends of therand forming fingers 300.

Another stop screw 374, also threaded through a lug upon the pusher 368,is arranged to engage a stationary surface 376 to limit the distancethrough which the pusher 368 can be projected. The screw 37 4 isnormally so adjusted that the pusher is stopped when the rear edge of.the rand 366 is even with the rear edge of the lift 348, as shown inFig. 12, although the fingers 300 move further to complete the formationof the rand.

After the rand is formed the plunger 350 is elevated, forcing the lift348 and the rand .366 upward into the receiving tube or holder 28.Inasmuch as the cement from the nozzle 130 is applied to the upper faceof the rand, the rand is not secured to the lift 348 below it but to thelast similar lift previously forced into the holder. The holder containsa number of spring fingers 378 (Fig. 10) arranged to press the breastedges of the assembled blanks against a flat surface 380 formed upon thecolumn 24 and constituting one wall of the holder. A pair of stationaryknives 382 is secured to the column the knives being so located that asa blank is forced upwardly past them the ends of the rand are trimmedoff and definite, standardized positioning surfaces 383 (see Fig. 13)are formed on the breast face of the blank adjacent to its side edges.These positioning surfaces may be utilized in assembling the blank whichis the product of this machine with other lifts to form a heel in themachine of my copending application Serial No. 7 57,241, filed Dec. 20,1924. The trimmings severed by the knives 382 are conducted away by achute 384 (Fig. 12 1 In order to prevent blanks from overfiowing fromthe top of the holder or receiver 28 in case the holder should beallowed to become filled, a detector finger 386 (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) islocated in the path of the rising column of blanks near the top of theholder. The finger 386 is secured to a shaft 388 j ournaled in bearingsin the column 24. Also secured to the shaft an arm 390 which, when inthe position illustrated in Fig. 2, supports a yoke 392 to which issecured a depending rod 394, the lower end of which, as illus-- tratedin Fig. 4, passes through the table 22 and engages an arm 396 upon therockshaft -:-r

88. A compression spring 398 surrounding the lower end ofthe rod 394tends continually to depress the rod. lVhen the detector [in ger isengaged and lifted by the growing column of blanks in the holder 28 theshaft 388 (Fig. 2) is rotatedthrough about a half revolution in acounter-clockwise direction by a spring 400 pulling upon a link 402connected to an arm 404" secured to the shaft.

to bring the line joining the anchorage of the stationary end of thespring 400 and the pivotal connection between the link 402 and the arm404 above the axis of the shaft. )Vhen this movement of the shaft occursthe yoke 392 is deprived of its support and the rod 394 is depressed bythe spring 398, causing the shaft 88 tobe rocked and the machine'to bestopped in the same manner as when the said shaft is rocked by the arm86, as heretofore described. a

Means have already been described for stopping the machine automaticallyin the event of the supply'of lifts in the magazine 26 becomingexhausted or in the event of the holder 28 becoming overfull. In orderto avoid the possibility of producing incomplete blanks provision isalso made for stopping the machine when the supply of rand strip .2.

This partial rotation of the shaft occurs as soon as the finger 386 hasbeen raised sufficiently' rod 408 depressed by a spring 410 (Fig. 4) andhearing at its lowerend upon an arm 412 secured to and extendingrearwardly from the rock shaft 98. A handle 414 secured to the finger406 permits the latter to be raised against the tension of the spring toallow the beginning end of the rand strip to be inserted beneath thefinger. When the end of the rand strip is reached and the finger 406 isallowed to drop the arm 412 is depressed, the' shaft' 98 rocked and themachine automatically stopped, as heretofore described.

An additional manually operable emergency stop 416, the lower end ofwhich also engages the arm 412, is provided'for use in case an operatorin the vicinity thereof should perceive the necessity of stopping themachine quickly.

Having described the various operating mechanisms of the machine andtheir mechanical relation to each other, a connected statement of theirsequence of operation will now be given. Assuming a supply of lifts tobe I contained in the magazine'26, cement in the receptacle 132 and arand strip in the guide 128, the partsjof the machine are in thepositions illustrated in Fig. 3. The motor 38 is running and thedetector is being continuously reciprocated, causing the lowermost liftsin the magazine 26 to be accurately positioned with their breast edgesagainst the column 24. The handle 118 is thrown back to permitengagement of the clutch 48, and the cam shaft; 36 begins to rotate. Thepush plate 30 and the rand forming plate 340 simultaneously advanceduring about 95 of rotation of the cam shaft feeding a lift intoassembling position beneath the forming plate. Early 1n the advance ofthe push plate and forming plate the previously elevated plunger 350descends, reaching its lowest position in time for the lift to be fed'in above it, as shown in Fig. 10. The rand feeding slide 180, which waspartially advanced when the machine started, advances until the prong234 engages the end of the rand strip 126 and is then immediatelyretracted, drawing the rand strip with it. The pump plunger 154 is timedto eject a continuous stream of cement from the nozzle 130 upon the randstrip during exactly the time that the strip is moving and the stroke.of the plunger is adjusted to produce the desired amount of cementduring that time. As soon as the slide 180 has completed its outwardmovement the knife 0 is operated to cut off the rand. Meanwhile theplunger 350 has risen slightly to press the lift 348 against the'underside of the plate 340 .where it remains while the rand is being formed.As soon as the rand is cut off the holddown 314 descends upon it,holding it flat and the forming fingers 300 advance to form therandarouncl the end of the plate 340 between the lift 3,48 and theholddown 314.

During this formingoperation the knife 270 is, returned to itsinoperative position.

At the conclusion of the forming operation; the rand forming plate340and the lift push plate 30 are retracted to their initial positions,after which the plunger 350 rises suiticiently to force the lift 848 andthe rand 366 up into the holder 28, the rand forming fingers 300retreating to their initial position. The holddown 314 is raised andfinallyithe rand feed slide 180 is advanced about twothirds of the waytoward the end of the rand strip126, whereupon the cycle of operationsis complete and everything is ready for it to be repeated. The machinecontinues'to operate automatically in cycles, as above described, untilit is either stopped manually or by any one of the several automaticstop devices previously described. I

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is: 7

1. In a heel machine,"the combination of means for assembling a-heellift and a rand into a heel blank, and means for forming accurately astandardized positioning surface upon the blank.

2. In a heel machine, the combination of means for assembling a heellift and a rand into a heel blank, and means forfforming upon the blanka plurality of positioning surfaces in accurately predetermined relationto each other.

. 3. In a heel machine, the combination of, means for assembling a heellift and rand' into a heel blank, and means for forming standardizedpositioning surfaces upon both the rand and the lift. 7

4. In a'heel niachine,thc combination of means for forming a rand andassembling it with a heel lift to fornra heel blank, and means forforming an accurate positioning surface upon the blank. 7 7

5. In a heel machine, the combination "of means for assembling aplurality of heel elements into a heel blank, and means for forming anaccurate positioning surface upon the blank concurrently with theassembling operation, V 7

6. Ina heel machine, the coi nbination'of a holder for a plurality ofheel blanks, ineans for inserting heel blanks successively, into theholder, and a plurality of knives for forming separated positioningsurfaces upon the blanks as they are inserted into the holder.

7 In a heel machine, the combination of a holder for a stack of heel,blanks, a plunger for inserting blanks into the holder, and a pluralityof knives co-operating with the plunger to form separated positioningsurfaces upon the blanks. Z r

8. In a heel machine, the combination of mechanism for assembling a heellift and a rand, and means for forming positioning suriii-f;

faces on the breast face of the assembled blank adjacent to its sideedges.

9. In a heel machine, the combination of a source of supply of heellifts, means for separating a lift from said source of supply, and meansfor forming a rand and assembling it with said lift.

10. In a heel machine, the combination of a source of supply of heellifts, means for separating a lift from said source of supply, means forforming a rand and assembling it with said lift, and means for attachingthe rand to the lift.

11. In a heel machine, the combination of a heel lift magazine, meansfor separating a lift from the magazine and feeding it to an assemblingstation, and means for forming a rand, assembling it with and securingit to said lift at said assembling station.

12. In a heel machine, the combination of a eel lift magazine, means forsuccessively ieeding individual lifts from said magazine to anassembling station, and means for successively forming individual rands,attaching them to the respective individual lifts, and forming theassembled blanks into a stack.

13. In a heel machine, the combination of a lift magazine, means forseparating a lift from the magazine and feeding it to a position inalinement with an assembling station, means for depositing a rand uponsaid lift, and means for advancing the rand and the lift to saidassembling station.

14. In a heel machine, the combination of a source of supply of heellifts, means for separating a lift from said source of supply andfeeding it to a position in alinement with an assembling station, meansfor depositing a rand upon said lift, and means for advancing the randand the lift to said assembling station.

15. In a heel machine, the combination of a source of supply of heellifts, a source of supply of unformed rands, means for cementing a randseparated from the last mentioned source, means for forming said rand,mechanism for assembling a heel lift from the first mentioned sourcewith the cemented rand, and means for pressing the assembled lift andrand together.

16. In a heel machine, the combination of means for measuring 05 andsevering a rand of predetermined length from a rand strip ofindeterminate length, and means for forming said rand to the shape of aheel lift.

17. In a heel machine, the combination of a rand strip feeding andmeasuring device, a rand cementing device, a rand sev ering cutter, anda rand former.

18. In a machine of the class described, the combinationof anintermittently operated rand feeder, a cementer, and a power drive forthe cementer, said power drive being so timed relatively to the randfeeder as to cause the cementer to apply cement to a rand only duringthe time it is being fed by the feeder. Y

19. In a machine of the class described, a rand feeder having a feedingmovement of variable extent, in combination with a cement applyingdevice timed to apply. cement to a rand only during said feedingmovement, regardless of variations therein.

20. In a machine of the class described, a rand feeder having a variablefeeding movement, in combination with a cement applying device havingprovision for varying the quantity of cement applied and timed to applycement to a rand only during the feeding movement thereof, regardless ofthe extent of said movement or the quantity of cement applied. V

21. In a machine of the class described, the combination of mechanismfor feeding, measuring and cutting off a rand from a rand strip, andmeans for applying cement only to a measured length of the strip equalto the portion which is cut ofi.

22. In a cyclically operating heel machine, the combination of means foradvancing a heel lift to an assembling station in one cycle of operationof the machine, and means for assembling a rand with the lift at saidassembling station in another cycle of operation of the machine.

23. In a heel machine, the combination of a heel blank holder, means forfeeding a liftto a position in alinement with the holder, means forcementing and feeding a rand to a position between the lift and theholder, and means for inserting the lift and the rand into the holder. 1

2 1. In a cyclically operating heel machine, the combination of a sourceof supply of heel lifts, means for moving a lift from said source ofsupply to an assembling station in one cycle of operation of themachine, a source of supply of rands, and means for cgmenting a rand andapplying it to said lift in the next cycle of operation of the ma chine.

25. In a heel machine, the combin on of an upright heel blank holderopen a lower end, cementing means for applying cement to the upper faceof a rand, and means for introducing the cemented rand into the lowerend of the holder and pressing its cementec face into engagement withthe lower face of a lift already in the holder.

26. In heel machine, he combination of an upright holder for a stack ofheel blanks, means for feeding a lift to a position beneath the holder,means for cementing the upper surface of a rand and feeding it toposition between the lift and the holder, and means for pressing thelift and the rand upward into the holder to cause the cemented surfaceof the rand to be pressed against a lift already in the holder.

27. In a machine of the class described, the combination of anintermittent rand strip feeder, and means for automatically disengagingthe feeder from the rand strip at the end of each feeding movement.

28. In a machine of the class described, the combination of anintermittent rand strip feeder having a movement of variable extent, andmeans for disengaging the feeder from the rand strip at the end of eachfeeding movement, regardless of variations therein.

29. In a machine of the class described, the combination of anintermittent rand feeder having a variable throw, a stop element fordisengaging the feeder from the rand at the end of said throw, and meansfor simultaneously varyin the throw of the feeder and the position ofthe stop, to maintain a fixed time relation between the movement of thefeeder and its disengagement from the rand.

30. In a machine of the class described, the combination of areciprocating rand strip feeder havin a variable throw, means forcontrolling the limit of movement of said feeder, a cutter arranged inco-operative relation to the rand strip, and means for varying theposition of the cutter.

31. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rand stripfeeder having a variable throw, a cutter arranged in co-operativerelation to the rand strip, and means for simultaneousl varying thelimit of movement of the feed er and the position of the cutter.

32. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rand stripfeeder having a variable throw, a cutter arranged in co-operativerelation to the rand strip, and means for equally and oppositely varyingthe limit of movement of the feeder and the position of the cutter.

33. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a source ofsupply of un formed rands, and a template controlled device for formingrands from said source of supply to the shape of a heel lift.

34. In a'machine of the class described, the combination of a source ofsupply of unformed rands, movable formers for forming a rand from saidsource of supply to the shape of a heel lift, and a templateco-operating with said formers to determine their paths of movement.

35. In a heel machine, the combination of power driven means foroperating upon a a heel blank, a heel blank holder, means for in sortingblanks successively into said holder, and means for stopping poweroperation of the machine when the holder is filled.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

RALPH C. SIMMONS.

